Tracing Quotations
Albert Einstein? Gotthold Ephraim Lessing? Alexander Grant? J. A. Turner? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The pursuit of truth is fascinating and energizing while the actual attainment of truth may feel anticlimactic. Here are four instances from a family of sayings: (1) The search for truth is more precious than its possession (2) The search for …
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Albert Einstein? John Archibald Wheeler? A. P. Barton? Bertram Carr? Mirjana R. Gearhart? H. Jackson Brown Jr.? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Everyone experiences challenges and difficulties. Happily, while surmounting these obstacles it is often possible to glimpse wonderful possibilities for the future. Here is a pertinent saying: In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. This …
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Albert Einstein? Werner Mitsch? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: It is difficult to conceive of an ordinary creature foolish enough to design and build a device that would dramatically increase the probability of its self-annihilation. The great scientist Albert Einstein supposedly made the following remark: Mankind invented the atomic bomb, yet a mouse would never invent …
Albert Einstein? Florence Griffith Joyner? Thomas Edison? Louise Chandler Moulton? Mike Ditka? Elmer Burritt Bryan? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following motivational remark has been attributed to the famous scientist Albert Einstein: You never fail until you stop trying. This saying has also been credited to the Olympic-medal-winning athlete Florence Griffith Joyner and the well-known …
Albert Einstein? Jerome Halprin? Abba Eban? Leonard Lyons? Sidney Greenberg? Paul Connett? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A popular quip highlights the distinction between the adjectives clever and wise: A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. This notion can also be expressed as follows: A clever person gets out of a situation …
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Albert Einstein? Ernest Rutherford? Cyril Hinshelwood? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: It should be possible to explain a valid scientific theory to anybody, e.g., a nine-year-old, a grandmother, or the man in the street. This dubious assertion is challenged by the fact that few humans are able to comprehend the notion of a four-dimensional space-time manifold …
Albert Einstein? Napoleon Bonaparte? Baron Rothschild? Paul Samuelson? John D. Rockefeller? Advertising Copy Writer? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Salespeople and advertisers invoke the name of the scientific genius Albert Einstein when they wish to impress gullible individuals. The following grandiose statement has been attributed to Einstein: Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. …
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Albert Einstein? Steven Wright? Earl Wilson? Robert Orben? Gary Apple? Bo McLeod? Brian Williams? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The speed of light is a crucial value in the theory of relativity. Perhaps that is why the following joke has been credited to Albert Einstein: Light travels faster than sound. That’s why some people appear bright …
Albert Einstein? Ray Cummings? Mark Twain? Arthur C. Clarke? John Archibald Wheeler? Arthur Power Dudden? Susan Sontag? Dear Quote Investigator: Albert Einstein has received credit for a humorous remark about time: The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once. Would you please explore the provenance of this quip? Quote Investigator: …
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Albert Einstein? Christina Baldwin? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a quotation about art attributed to the famous scientist Albert Einstein which describes a person extending a hand into the universe and acting as a “conduit for passing energy”. I am skeptical of this ascription because I have been unable to find a citation. Would …
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